Question about Uberti Brass frames

[curdog]

There is an Uberti  Henry for sale locally  and I have some questions about them. It's a 44/40 and wondering if they have .427 bore or .430. Seems like I read somewhere that the bore size is .430 on uberti's 44/40 barrels. Also will the brass frame stand up to 44/40 loaded with black powder. I figure there was a reason Winchester switched to iron frames on the '73 when they introduced the 44/40. I like the brass frames but if the bores are .430 can you get any kind of accuracy with them.

[Fingers McGee]

I've got an Uberti Henry in 44-40 that shoots great with .428 big lube bullets over 33 grains of fffg Black Powder.  It also works well with Black Hills and Ultramax factory ammunition.  Haven't slugged the barrel or miked the factory ammo though.

I don't shoot it in CAS matches much anymore because my '66 is faster; bit I've had over 20 years and it's as nice now as it was when I bought it.  It's got a couple thousand BP rounds through it, and my '66 has 6 or 7 thousand rounds through it - if not more.

[Major 2]

I have two Brass Uberti's one in 44/40 made in 1979 and 45 Colt made in 1999...
The 44/40 saw 8 years of CW reenacting nothing but BP blanks, then a life of CAS for several years with a new owner, it became a safe queen for 20 years, and I bought it back 6- 7 years ago.
Since then both Black Hills & home loaded rounds, with a few boxes of Ultramax through it as well... point is, it looks salty (great)
but is just as good now as it was 35 years ago.

The 15 year old 45 Colt has never seen blanks, but it has seen the 45 BP & the a fore mentioned factory brand 45 loads.

add those two to the year old H011 from HRA also in 44/40 & still another Uberti 45 Colt steel frame
The H011 has seen BP the Steel frame has not.

44/40 BP loads are 200 Grain RNFP size to .428 & SPG over 30 grains of 3FFF  all three get the same fodder
Either the BP or the factory.

Point is... stay way from steady a diet of 1400 FPS and the Brass Frame will be shooting with your grandson's son.  

[Advertising]

[jimbobborg]

I use the skinnier bullets for my 44-40 Uberti 1860 with no loss in accuracy.  I load 165gr bullets and Swiss BP with no issues in the rifle and my two Uberti Bisleys in 44-40.

[curdog]

Thanks guys. I've been watching an add for the Henry and the seller has dropped the price once. I figure if I go with cash in hand he may come down some more.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

My 'Iron Framed' Uberti Henry is only a few years old. When I slugged the barrel it came out as .429. This is the figure I see reported most often for these rifles. Interestingly enough, because I have other 44-40 rifles with .427 barrels, including an Uberti 1873 made in the 1980s, I have compromised at .428 for the diameter I size my 44-40 bullets too. My .429 Henry does just fine with these bullets even though they are nominally .001 undersize for the barrel.

This is probably because even at .001 undersize, the rifling still gets a good grip on the bullet. It may also be because I use dead soft, pure lead bullets, and they may be bumping up slightly in diameter in the bore.

I have never put anything but Black Powder through my Henry. My load is 2.2CC of FFg under a 200 grain Mav-Dutchman Big lube bullet. This comes to about 35 grains when the charge is weighed, being compressed between 1/16" - 1/8" when the bullet is seated. Even though my Henry has a steel frame, I would not hesitate to use this load in a brass framed Henry. They are proofed at Government proof houses with loads that exceed the standard SAAMI spec by about 30%.

P.S. You are correct that Winchester went to an iron frame with the '73 when they first brought out the Model 1873 in 44-40 because the powder capacity had been increased from about 28 grains in the 44 Henry Rimfire round to about 40 grains in the 44-40. However as long as you do not exceed Max SAAMI loads a brass framed Henry will be fine with any loads, BP or Smokeless.

P.P.S. Mike Venturino does comment in his book Shooting Lever Guns of the Old West that he saw a brass framed Henry that had its headspacing ruined by less than a box of 'hot' 44-40 rounds.